Councilman's pitch: Condos on City Island

Published: Saturday, October 5, 2013 at 8:35 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, October 6, 2013 at 10:51 p.m.

In downtown Daytona Beach, one of the city's best panoramic views of the Halifax River is on City Island, planted between the soaring International Speedway Boulevard bridge and a marina of yachts and sailboats.

The island, less than a square mile filled with a library, a courthouse, a tennis center, a park and Jackie Robinson Ballpark, has sat firmly in the public sector for years.

Maybe, some observers say, the private sector should have a foothold.

Perhaps a large-scale condominium project — with the courthouse torn down, the library moved and the area's homeless population relocated to a new facility outside the city — would change the landscape of City Island and downtown itself.

“If we're going to be progressive, and aggressive, and turn this area around, we have to put out these kinds of proposals,” said Volusia County Councilman Josh Wagner, one of the latest chief proponents of private development on the island, and one who has discussed it recently with developers. “There are some gigantic projects going on, and if we keep this momentum, there is interest out there. The interest is there.”

The prospect of a City Island condo project has come up repeatedly over the past decade-plus, pre-recession, often to public outcry. Its return now is a product of several factors, including a series of big projects that area leaders hope signal a path out of a stagnant economy: Two big new hotels on the beachside, including a Hard Rock Cafe, and a massive redevelopment in and around Daytona International Speedway.

Wagner, who plans to pitch his plan next week as part of a County Council “strategic initiatives” discussion, is proposing:

• Tearing down the Volusia County Courthouse Annex on the eastern edge of the island and building a new one, either next to the S. James Foxman Justice Center on Ridgewood Avenue or in a centralized facility out by the Volusia County Branch Jail.

• Moving the Daytona Beach Regional Library to one of several nearby buildings on Beach Street, including the Dunn building or the historic YWCA building.

• Replacing them with a $300 million to $400 million residential development with roughly 1,000 units in a mixture of condos, high-end rentals and a hotel.

Wagner wants the county, which owns the land underneath the library and courthouse, to issue a request for proposals for any developers who might take on such a project.

“If it were financially feasible ... it would be good,” fellow Councilman Doug Daniels said recently. “Nobody that has looked at it so far has come away and thought it was financially feasible.”

Both the courthouse and library have held their waterfront locations for decades. The courthouse opened in 1972 at a cost of about $2.3 million. The library was built in 1977 with $2.1 million in federal money.

In 2001, a team of consultants who visited Beach Street suggested freeing the island to private development. The debate continued for years. Residents packed public meetings, many fiercely defending the library from developer interests. An 82-year-old library user warned in 2006 she had “a metal cane that makes a good weapon” and was prepared to lie down in front of a bulldozer. By 2009, when a downtown redevelopment board was drawing up a master plan, City Island was off the table altogether.

“We had to take City Island off the riverfront master plan because it was such a contentious issue,” said Jack White, a downtown developer and member of the Downtown/Ballough Road Redevelopment Board at the time. “So I know it's definitely very sensitive when you're talking City Island. In some ways, it's a very key piece to our downtown.”

The lingering question has remained whether the island has better potential with private development or as a public hub. White, who built Wall Street Lofts and is building a brownstone-style project called William Square nearby, said to succeed as a downtown, Daytona has to balance public and private projects. He wasn't one of the developers Wagner consulted about City Island.

“If you put too much weight on one side, you tend to pull away from the quality-of-life aspect,” he said. “Obviously, I want more residential. I believe in the idea that people need to live downtown; that's going to drive a lot of retail and restaurants. But I don't have enough information to say, 'Let's take City Island and do that there.'

“If it could be done, it'd be great,” Daniels added. “If you think about it, that courthouse right there on the river is kind of ridiculous. It's a great piece of property, and we've got that courthouse on it that has virtually no windows. ... It's like a courthouse that was built in the middle of some nondescript town somewhere. What was that architect thinking?”

Another factor in any discussion of downtown development is the area's homeless population. The latest proposal, floated by Volusia County Judge Belle Schumann, is Volusia Safe Harbor Transitional Shelter, which would be built near the county jail and modeled after Pinellas Safe Harbor in Clearwater.

Volusia County Manager Jim Dinneen said the county will explore what it would take to build the facility. Wagner has proposed the county build it, then cities help fund the operational costs.

The consultant behind Pinellas Safe Harbor, Robert Marbut, said the program can help save an area's core downtown area.

Marbut said he spoke with interested Daytona Beach city officials at a seminar in Orlando in August and is interested in helping launch a facility in Volusia.

The homeless shelter could easily proceed without any changes to City Island. City Island, on the other hand, is far less likely to be developed without a homeless solution.

“I think we're in a position where government, we can find ways to put some of the highest-priced pieces of property back on the tax roll, and it benefits citizens,” he said. “... All I want to do is give the marketplace a chance to let these succeed. We're leveraging public property that has private value.”

Longtime Daytona Beach resident Done Kane, one of the many who opposed the idea years ago, was ready to do so again: “My wife Betty and I oppose any proposal to sell out our beautiful downtown island,” he said, “and will speak out against the politicians that support this insane idea.”

<p>In downtown Daytona Beach, one of the city's best panoramic views of the Halifax River is on City Island, planted between the soaring International Speedway Boulevard bridge and a marina of yachts and sailboats.</p><p>The island, less than a square mile filled with a library, a courthouse, a tennis center, a park and Jackie Robinson Ballpark, has sat firmly in the public sector for years.</p><p>Maybe, some observers say, the private sector should have a foothold.</p><p>Perhaps a large-scale condominium project — with the courthouse torn down, the library moved and the area's homeless population relocated to a new facility outside the city — would change the landscape of City Island and downtown itself.</p><p>“If we're going to be progressive, and aggressive, and turn this area around, we have to put out these kinds of proposals,” said Volusia County Councilman Josh Wagner, one of the latest chief proponents of private development on the island, and one who has discussed it recently with developers. “There are some gigantic projects going on, and if we keep this momentum, there is interest out there. The interest is there.”</p><p>The prospect of a City Island condo project has come up repeatedly over the past decade-plus, pre-recession, often to public outcry. Its return now is a product of several factors, including a series of big projects that area leaders hope signal a path out of a stagnant economy: Two big new hotels on the beachside, including a Hard Rock Cafe, and a massive redevelopment in and around Daytona International Speedway.</p><p>Wagner, who plans to pitch his plan next week as part of a County Council “strategic initiatives” discussion, is proposing:</p><p>• Tearing down the Volusia County Courthouse Annex on the eastern edge of the island and building a new one, either next to the S. James Foxman Justice Center on Ridgewood Avenue or in a centralized facility out by the Volusia County Branch Jail.</p><p>• Moving the Daytona Beach Regional Library to one of several nearby buildings on Beach Street, including the Dunn building or the historic YWCA building.</p><p>• Replacing them with a $300 million to $400 million residential development with roughly 1,000 units in a mixture of condos, high-end rentals and a hotel.</p><p>Wagner wants the county, which owns the land underneath the library and courthouse, to issue a request for proposals for any developers who might take on such a project.</p><p>“If it were financially feasible ... it would be good,” fellow Councilman Doug Daniels said recently. “Nobody that has looked at it so far has come away and thought it was financially feasible.”</p><p>Both the courthouse and library have held their waterfront locations for decades. The courthouse opened in 1972 at a cost of about $2.3 million. The library was built in 1977 with $2.1 million in federal money.</p><p>In 2001, a team of consultants who visited Beach Street suggested freeing the island to private development. The debate continued for years. Residents packed public meetings, many fiercely defending the library from developer interests. An 82-year-old library user warned in 2006 she had “a metal cane that makes a good weapon” and was prepared to lie down in front of a bulldozer. By 2009, when a downtown redevelopment board was drawing up a master plan, City Island was off the table altogether.</p><p>“We had to take City Island off the riverfront master plan because it was such a contentious issue,” said Jack White, a downtown developer and member of the Downtown/Ballough Road Redevelopment Board at the time. “So I know it's definitely very sensitive when you're talking City Island. In some ways, it's a very key piece to our downtown.”</p><p>The lingering question has remained whether the island has better potential with private development or as a public hub. White, who built Wall Street Lofts and is building a brownstone-style project called William Square nearby, said to succeed as a downtown, Daytona has to balance public and private projects. He wasn't one of the developers Wagner consulted about City Island.</p><p>“If you put too much weight on one side, you tend to pull away from the quality-of-life aspect,” he said. “Obviously, I want more residential. I believe in the idea that people need to live downtown; that's going to drive a lot of retail and restaurants. But I don't have enough information to say, 'Let's take City Island and do that there.'</p><p>“If it could be done, it'd be great,” Daniels added. “If you think about it, that courthouse right there on the river is kind of ridiculous. It's a great piece of property, and we've got that courthouse on it that has virtually no windows. ... It's like a courthouse that was built in the middle of some nondescript town somewhere. What was that architect thinking?”</p><p>Another factor in any discussion of downtown development is the area's homeless population. The latest proposal, floated by Volusia County Judge Belle Schumann, is Volusia Safe Harbor Transitional Shelter, which would be built near the county jail and modeled after Pinellas Safe Harbor in Clearwater.</p><p>Volusia County Manager Jim Dinneen said the county will explore what it would take to build the facility. Wagner has proposed the county build it, then cities help fund the operational costs.</p><p>The consultant behind Pinellas Safe Harbor, Robert Marbut, said the program can help save an area's core downtown area.</p><p>Marbut said he spoke with interested Daytona Beach city officials at a seminar in Orlando in August and is interested in helping launch a facility in Volusia.</p><p>The homeless shelter could easily proceed without any changes to City Island. City Island, on the other hand, is far less likely to be developed without a homeless solution.</p><p>“I think we're in a position where government, we can find ways to put some of the highest-priced pieces of property back on the tax roll, and it benefits citizens,” he said. “... All I want to do is give the marketplace a chance to let these succeed. We're leveraging public property that has private value.”</p><p>Longtime Daytona Beach resident Done Kane, one of the many who opposed the idea years ago, was ready to do so again: “My wife Betty and I oppose any proposal to sell out our beautiful downtown island,” he said, “and will speak out against the politicians that support this insane idea.”</p><br>